ikˈspīr, ek- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English expiren, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French expirer, from Latin expirare, exspirare, from ex- ex- (I) + spirare to breathe — more at spirit
intransitive verb
1. : to breathe one's last breath : die
was carried home by his two old counselors and soon expired — D.G.Hoffman
2. : to come to an end : cease:
a. : to reach a close (as of a period of time) : terminate
the period of ten years for which the court was established expired in 1918 — B.H.Williams
b. : to become void through the passage of time
now all his powerful patents have expired — C.B.Fisher
c. : to become extinct : die out
the title of the daughters expired on the birth of the son — William Cruise
3. : to emit the breath
the whales … expired with a rushing sound the instant the blowhole was exposed — P.H.Gosse
4. obsolete : to burst forth : fly out with or as if with a blast
furious winds … pent in blind caverns, struggling to expire — George Sandys
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to breathe out in the act of dying
as soon as their apostle had expired his last breath — Jeremy Taylor
2. obsolete : to bring to an end : conclude
would expire the misery of his unspeakable tormenting uncertainty — Thomas Nash
3. : to breathe out from or as if from the lungs : release from the nose or mouth in the process of respiration
the basal metabolism test … measures the amount of carbon dioxide expired by the lungs — J.D.Ratcliff
— distinguished from inspire
4. archaic : to give off : exhale , emit
every shrub expires perfume — Charles Churchill